How will new Nugget Timofey Mozgov fit into the plans?

Heâ€™s definitely the Ringo Starr of the four Knicks who came to Denver, but Timofey Mozgov, the Nuggets hope, can become a factor. Coach George Karl believes that he will be a starter in this league within the next five years. Denver executive Masai Ujiri believes Mozgov has a big upside because, unlike some 7-footers who are forced by adults to play basketball, Mozgov seems to have a genuine enjoyment of playing and developing.

The 7-1 rookie from Russia played in 34 games for New York, actually starting 14, and averaged 4.0 points per game and 3.1 rebounds in 13.5 minutes.

Itâ€™s unclear how many minutes heâ€™ll play with Denver â€“ which has Kenyon Martin, Nene and Chris Andersen in the low-post rotation â€“ but he will definitely get some playing time. One Nugget who hopes to benefit from the 7-footer is Nene, who has played a lot of center in his day, but now can play power forward and have the big Russian do some of the low-post dirty work.

â€śI don’t think there’s any question our big guys have been asked to maybe push and shove and bang and grind a little bit more,â€ť said Karl from shootaround, after preparing for Boston tonight. â€śWe’re not the biggest team, and now we are a big team. I think it will relieve some of the matchup situations, where we can put a bigger body in the game for 15 or 20 minutes. Nene is still going to have to play the big boys when it counts, down the stretch. Kenyon, that’s his forte. Even though he’s undersized, he knows how to cover big guys. He and Garnett will go at each other. It’s always a fun matchup to watch. Boston has a way to be physically being somewhat intimidating inside. It will be interesting how we attack them that way. I think we still have to go there, have to make good decisions, smart decisions.â€ť

Mozgov is still learning the English language. Karl was asked about the strategies he and his staff will use when teaching Timofey.

â€śHe told me he understands if I talk slowly, so I think we’ll be ok in practice,â€ť Karl said. â€śIt’s in the games I won’t be able to slow down. From what I’ve seen of him, he has a basketball IQ that for a big man at this age is very impressive. I told someone, I bet you money he’ll be a starter, from what we’ve seen and what people told us. After seeing him, we have four guys (from New York) that are going to start for NBA teams for extended periods of times.â€ť

Ed:
It looked like to me Gallo would have a hard time running with our starting lineup AND our backups, credit that to why he got only played 20 minutes, mostly in the first half. His 2 points and -1 rating weren’t too impressive to me. However I saw him play a little in NYC and he looked good, but he’s a big guy to be on the wing and has to run with the likes of Lawson, AAA, Nene, even JR.
That being said it’s been one game, I won’t be that quick to jump to conclusions, let’s see how he played in the next few games, starting with Portland tonight!

Ed:
It looked like to me Gallo would have a hard time running with our starting lineup AND our backups, credit that to why he got only played 20 minutes, mostly in the first half. His 2 points and -1 rating weren’t too impressive to me. However I saw him play a little in NYC and he looked good, but he’s a big guy to be on the wing and has to run with the likes of Lawson, AAA, Nene, even JR.
That being said it’s been one game, I won’t be that quick to jump to conclusions, let’s see how he played in the next few games, starting with Portland tonight!

You’ve gotten four good players. The Knicks won when Felton hit his 3’s. Mozgov is big and gets in the way. He can shoot, too. Chandler is very good. I’d like them all back. The Knicks now have to start over. They’re small and lost 3 good 3 point shooters, plus your new guys are babies, they’re all young.
IJB

You’ve gotten four good players. The Knicks won when Felton hit his 3’s. Mozgov is big and gets in the way. He can shoot, too. Chandler is very good. I’d like them all back. The Knicks now have to start over. They’re small and lost 3 good 3 point shooters, plus your new guys are babies, they’re all young.
IJB

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.